Chapter 304: Assessment Methods

"Learn Sword Finger?"

Xu Xiaoshou slowly lowered his two fingers. Honestly, if he hadn't sensed that Young Master Fu was merely excited and had no other intentions, this person might have been sent flying again.

He glanced at the jade pendant on the man's waist and, for the second time, felt utterly pathetic. First, there were the endless jade treasures from Lei Shuangxing; now, Young Master Fu had countless defensive spirit jades. How rich was this guy?! Destroy one, replace it with another?

He silently sighed, then pried Fu Xing's hand off his face and wiped it. His face was covered in blood. This guy...

"Calm down a bit."

Fu Xing, however, couldn't calm down at all. The thought of Xu Xiaoshou mastering the true "Ten-Segment Sword Finger"—not the common spiritual skill he knew—made his heart twitch. How could the Sky Mulberry Spirit Palace possess something like this? If he had known the Spirit Palace had such a thing earlier, he definitely wouldn't have listened to his father and stayed home to inherit everything from the City Lord's Mansion! Indeed, people need to go out and experience the world for themselves. He regretted it.

"Brother...""Teach me the 'Ten-Segment Sword Finger,' I really want to learn..."

Xu Xiaoshou pushed him away, pursing his lips to the side. Fu Xing turned his head and was startled to see President Shi Ti's face, dark enough to drip ink.

"Cough, cough, cough...""I'll pay for it!" Fu Xing said with an apologetic smile.

Shi Ti exploded in anger, roaring, "Don't think that just because you're the Young Master of the City Lord's Mansion, you can do whatever you want! If the Pill Tower really needs to be repaired, will your measly few coins be enough? This is the will of our ancestors, a legacy! Understand?!"

Fu Xing nodded vigorously, like a garlic pestle: "Understand, I understand! President, I was wrong. I won't cause any more trouble."

President Shi Ti angrily flung his sleeve: "You two, stop causing trouble here! If you want to make a scene, wait until you're out of the Pill Tower." He suddenly had an idea: "Or, should I send you out right now?"

"No, no!" Xu Xiaoshou immediately waved his hands, "I'm here for an assessment. This guy was the one who started it. Why don't you send him out instead?"

Fu Xing's face went pale. Have the President send him out? He certainly didn't have that much pull!

"No, no, I'm here to watch my sister's assessment. I can't leave yet." Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Xu Xiaoshou. Previously, if he was asked to call him 'brother,' he might have been somewhat reluctant, but now... Calling him 'brother' was a good idea! Now that he'd called him 'brother,' he'd cling to him until he got that 'Ten-Segment Sword Finger'!

Fu Yinhong said, her tone unfriendly, "I'm done with my assessment!"Fu Xing looked at her: "Did you succeed?""Failed."He pushed his sister into the alchemy room: "You're taking it again.""I'm tired!""No, you're not! You must take it again. You take your test, and I'll stick with Xu Xiaoshou. Today, no matter what, I'm getting that 'Ten-Segment Sword Finger' out of him!"

Fu Yinhong: ???Is this the influence of bad company?

The two re-entered the open-air alchemy room. Xu Xiaoshou looked at President Shi Ti: "How do I take the assessment?"

Shi Ti thought for a moment, ultimately swallowing his anger. Indeed, if he were to be strict, it seemed all the destruction was caused by Fu Xing alone? The Pill Tower truly couldn't refuse those who aspired to alchemy. Turning them away was something you could say, but actually doing it would be disheartening. Besides, when it came to alchemy, such a serious blunder shouldn't be possible, right?

"You two, come with me." Shi Ti said, leading Mu Zixi into another alchemy room. This was Elder Sang's favorite disciple; naturally, he wanted to personally supervise her to see what level the young girl could reach. As for Xu Xiaoshou, he was handed over to another receptionist.

Alchemy Room.

Xu Xiaoshou looked at the old man in front of him, feeling a bit curious. "Senior, are you...? Aren't the receptionists usually young ladies? Why trouble a senior to come in person?" He saw the old man wearing an alchemy robe, with a badge pinned to his chest. The alchemist's badge was easy to recognize: apart from its golden yellow background, it only featured simple clouds and a cauldron. The cauldron naturally symbolized the alchemist's lifeline, the medicine cauldron. The clouds were even easier to identify, indicating the rank by the number of clouds! Xu Xiaoshou saw six clouds supporting a cauldron on the old man's badge, which meant he was a sixth-grade alchemy grandmaster. How could such a significant figure be here to receive him?

"This old man is Yun He." The old man smiled and said, "For young brother to be brought by the President to the seventh floor for an assessment, it indicates you're quite extraordinary. The seventh floor of this Pill Tower has no receptionists. After all, few people come here on ordinary days; it's mostly old fellows chatting. If someone truly comes for an assessment, us idle old men naturally have something to do."

"I see..." Xu Xiaoshou replied with an 'oh,' then asked, "So, how does the assessment work?"

Yun He smiled faintly and asked, "Young brother, what grade alchemist are you?"

"I'm unranked."

"Unranked... hmm, unranked?" The old man's eyes widened: "If you're unranked, how were you brought to the seventh floor for an assessment by President Shi Ti?"

"Uh." Xu Xiaoshou was taken aback: "Isn't anyone allowed?"

Yun He: ???"Anyone allowed? If anyone could come up to the seventh floor, would us old men still have time to drink tea? Only half-step grandmaster alchemists advancing from seventh to sixth grade are qualified to come here, alright?! Otherwise, why do you think we're so idle? Although grandmaster-level assessments are now much rarer, some old fellows occasionally bring those advancing from eighth to seventh grade, just to keep things lively. But that also depends on their aptitude and background! Fu Yinhong was an example, but how many people with the surname Fu in the entire Sky Mulberry City could compare to her?"

Suspected, Passive Points, +1.Suspected, Passive Points, +1.

Xu Xiaoshou blinked. He hadn't expected the old man's internal monologue to be so rich. "If not just anyone, then by connections?"

Yun He was immediately choked up. That was exactly what he was thinking. "Hehe." He gave an awkward laugh. "Young brother has good connections... Do you know the Young Master of the City Lord's Mansion?"

Xu Xiaoshou smiled. It seemed this guy didn't dare to eavesdrop on their conversation! "You could say I know him. Fu Xing calls me brother."

Yun He's face stiffened. So, this person was also a young master from the City Lord's Mansion? No wonder. Such powerful connections that he could come directly to the seventh floor... But wasn't there only one Young Master in the City Lord's Mansion? If even the Young Master called him 'brother,' then who was this...? Super Young Master?

Suspected, Passive Points, +1.

Xu Xiaoshou waved his hand dismissively. "Let's not talk about that. You still haven't explained the assessment method!"

Yun He finally came back to his senses and chuckled, "Since young master hasn't been assessed before, we'll naturally start from tenth grade."

"How do I take it?""It's simple: choose a tenth-grade medicinal pill and successfully refine it.""What about the medicinal ingredients?""The Pill Tower provides them. You have three attempts, and the minimum requirement is to successfully refine one high-grade medicinal pill."

"High-grade..." Xu Xiaoshou raised an eyebrow. This Pill Tower's standards were quite high; it seemed they wouldn't allow anyone to simply muddle through. He asked again, "Besides these, is there anything else?"

"No, that's it."

"Alright." Xu Xiaoshou replied, pointing to the alchemy cauldron and ground fire inside the alchemy room, "Can I not use these? I'll use my own."

Yun He now regarded him with slightly higher esteem. Those who could say such things usually had many years of immersion in the path of alchemy, possessed their own flames, and had a certain spiritual connection with their personal cauldrons. Although this would increase an alchemist's success rate, there was no such restrictive rule in the tenth-grade assessment yet.

This young man... Could he be the type who had silently explored the path of alchemy for a long time, only to astonish everyone with a single display?